Aftermath: From the Ashes
by Dienekes
Summary: Jake Sully struggles with his position of leadership. Neytiri fights off other mates... and are all Avatar clans so peaceful? A squad of marines in Avatar bodies suites up to destroy Sully's peace, and take Sully's head. Sully x Neytiri action and romance
1. Chapter 1: Sh'yara

James Cameron's Avatar: Aftermath

**Chapter 1: Sh'yara of the coastal Ikran clan**

_**(Ikran ambush team, waiting to ambush the coming human fleet) **_

Sh'yara had been to battle before. But it hadn't been anything like this.

She could hear the flying beasts of the sky people far before she could see them. It was a deep, penetrating buzz, like the buzz of a wasp. The sound got louder with each second, small pieces of rock shook loose as she felt her saddle begin to hum with vibration. She wondered if the sound might simply get louder to infinity, until there was nothing but that dreaded buzz. She closed her eyes, but that only made the fear worse.

Sakon, her Ikran, stiffened beneath her, turning it's long face towards her with anxiety, which mirrored her own.

"Calm, Sakon. We will be fine," she lied. Her fear infected her Ikran through the bond of Zaheelu like an insatiable torrent, as it rose within her own heart.

She looked around to her people, most of them veteran Ikran riders, and she realized with wide-eyed shame, that it was her job to calm their fears on the eve of this great battle, and she was failing miserably.

_Why father_, she wondered. _Why did you let me lead the war party? I wasn't ready. _

She clenched her shaking fists, and breathed deep, remembering it was her who wor the red war-paint of her tribe. It was time for her to be the war leader, ready or not.

"Brothers and Sisters!" she said in a level voice, steeling her resolve. Her warriors looked to her anxiously... pleadingly, just like her Ikran. They were looking to her for guidance. "We have never seen creatures such as these... this is indeed a disadvantage."

Their eyes aknowledged this fear with a shamed downwards glance.

"However..." her voice rose in her to a heated tone. "These... sky people... have never before seen the might of our people. And to them, this is an even greater disadvantage. For today... we honor Eywa, we fight for our ancestors! AND NOTHING SHALL STOP US!"

She watched with pride as the eyes of her warriors lit up with courage, and the air was filled... for a fleeting moment... not with the buzz of the wasps, but with the voices of her brave warriors. As their cheers sounded, the sky people's wasps came into view, hovering below in their swarm, but she did not fear them.

And then, Jakesulee gave the war cry, the glorious Tarok Makto, riding the fierce last shadow. She had never seen a more handsome man. There was something about him... that she could not quite describe... but it made her heart race.

Sh'yara whooped herself, only to hear her voice joined in the rising war cry. They joined Jakesulee in his attack. The dropped from the rocks like a glorious swarm.

The wind whistled past her in higher and higher a pitch as the sky people's fleet came rushing up towards her, looking more menacing with each moment.

She drew a long arrow from her bow, aimed, letting Eywa guide her hands, and released. The arrow punched through the window and stapled the human to his seat. Carried by momentum, she shot past him at blinding speed as his craft wobbled down, riderless.

_The sky people are not invincible. _

Grinning, she urged her Ikran towards the next target. Now this was the kind of battle she was used to... the kind her father had taught her to win. She could feel the blood pumping through her like the beat of a war-drum, drawing her into the rythm of death.

The air was suddenly lit up with light and burning heat by an explosion as Jakesulee's Tarok dashed one of the sky people's wasps like a play-toy against the rocks.

She gave a whoop, and urged her Ikran towards another wasp. This time, the human inside noticed her, and flames arked from both it's wings as bullets came streaming out.

Sakon gave a pained cry and Sh'yara felt as though she'd been struck by a hammer in her stomach. In an instant... she was falling. Nothing was beneath her but the open sky. Falling through the air, she looked up, to see the broken body of her Ikran tumbling downwards motionless above her, illuminated by the bright lines of tracers which streamed across the sky back and forth.

"SAKON!" she screamed desperately. Seeing her dead Ikran hurt her more than the bullet which had torn through her gut.

But Sakon was gone. Nothing was coming to save her. As the battle above got smaller and smaller, she looked up and could see the limp bodies of Ikran and riders alike falling from the sky. More Ikran were falling than the enemy's wasps.

Scores of Ikran were falling to their deaths. _Have we already lost? _She turned her gaze back to the radily approaching canopy of Pandora and closed her eyes.

She was suddenly slapped and struck by a tangle of vines and leaves as she thundered through the canopy, tumbling from one large leaf to another, bouncing down off of branches and vines which flipped her painfully through the air.

She struck the ground with a crunch. Something within her had broken. Sh'yara, war leader of her clan, let out a ragged scream of enourmous pain and sorrow, rolled over through the dense ferns, and then went limp as her vision went white.

xxxxxx

When she awoke... she let out another screech of pain. It felt as if her whole body had been broken. But almost immediately, her screech turned to coughing. The acrid smell and white blanket of smoke had covered the land.

She wondered if Jakesulee had also fallen. When he'd first flown to her villiage, her father had been reluctant to send the tribe to war, but Sh'yara had begged him. When she looked into Jakesulee's eyes, she knew that she was going to be his mate. She wondered if her premonition had cost the lives of her clan.

Ash was fluttering onto her like rain. Everywhere, Eywa was dying. She did not know how many hours had passed since she'd fallen from the sky.

She pulled herself up gingerly, ash falling from her face, each motion of her body earning jolts of pain through her body. She could see the hungry flames as they devoured the trees to the north. She suspected the worst. That the sky people had won, and now they were going to consume Eywa with their fire. She fought back tears.

_Now is not the time to cry. _

She knew from the burning pain in her right leg that it was broken. Gritting her teeth, she began to drag herself through the underbrush, covering her bleeding nose from the foul oder of death. She knew she had to escape. She had to reach higher ground.

_If I can just make it to the tree of souls_

She pulled herself, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out. Each pull was agony, but the smoke was getting thinner, and her determination was getting stronger.

And then she saw it... the reason Eywa had spared her life. Tucked within the natural colors of the forest was something strange. It was a shiny box, an intruder in the wilderness. It was built with the material of the sky people.

Smiling at her fortune, she pulled her knife from the sheath at her breast, and slowly pulled herself towards it. She heard alien voices. She was crawling now, ignoring the pain in her leg, thinking only of vengeance. Yes, many of her tribesmen had died with her in the battle, but she would wet her blade with the blood of at least one more alien invader.

Hiding beneath the ferns, she saw one of the sky people, a tough-looking man with white hair, dead in his land-creature, with two arrows sticking from his stinking corpse.

Whoever had started the job hadn't finished it. One other sky person with a familiar face was gazing, absent-mindedly up at the sky from what looked to be a seat with wheels. Every rise of his alien chest was an insult to her people.

She didn't know how she recognized the face, nor did she care. She crawled, her eyes shining with hatred, dagger clutched in her hand, and with the stealth of a hunter.

Then, just as she saw his gaze begin to move down towards the ground, she leapt with her one working leg, tackling him. Sky people were weak and flimsy, she realized as she easily knocked him from his chair.

She raised her dagger quickly to kill him.

"Stop!" Jake Sully shouted, muffled by his mask. "I'm on your side!"

"Liar," she hissed. She brought the knife down with a stab fueled with all the anger and frustration that had built within her, but he blocked her by the wrist, halting the blade just a few inches from his face.

"Sh'yara! I'm on your side! The battle is over!" he gasped, the hand which held her dagger back wobbling with exertion.

"SILENCE!" she screamed, tasting her own coppery blood inside her mouth. The fact that the alien had used her name made her even angier. Before she could stab him, however, he scrambled beneath her, and she felt his arm wrap around her throat from behind.

She thrashed to get him off, but she moved too hard. She felt a crunch as her right leg broke further. She let out a cry of pain. _No... not here... not now_. _I must do this... I must avenge Jakesullee. _

Her cry of pain turned into a cry of rage. The human had slackened his grip on her throat for some reason. She reached over her shoulder, grasped his puny body in her hands and threw him off of her.

He landed in front of her, his mask coming off. Gasping, Jake Sully struggled to get the mask back on as the wobbling Sh'yara charged him again... but the blood that had been oozing from her fractured leg had weakened her too much.

The world went fuzzy as Sh'yara's heavy eyes finally shut, falling at Jake Sully's feet.

xxx

When Neytiri opened her eyes to the bright light of the sun and the sound of the evening birds, she realized that she'd slept for quite some time.

It was no wonder... Jake still held her tightly with his strong arms. She smiled happily and turned to him, licking his forehead. "Wake up, Jake..." she whispered, giggling softly. She had fantasized about licking her mate awake from his rest ever since she was a child.

But he remained motionless.

She frowned, remembering Jake's odd sleeping habbits. He was... after all... one of the sky people. But Neytiri did not care any longer.

She lifted his arm from where it snugly wrapped around her chest, and kissed him on the check. She got up to find him in his human form, knowing that with his disabled human legs he couldn't get far... and she felt worried.

She'd already seen so much death in yesterday's battle... and Jake was still such a child that needed her protection. She smiled to herself as she approached the box that housed Jake's machine.

"Jake!?" she called out.

"Neytiri!" she heard a man answer, but to her dissapointment, it was Norm in his human form, wearing the clothes that the sky people wore. Neytiri frowned.

"Oh don't look so dissapointed..." Norm said with a scowl.

"Where is Jake?" she asked him tersely. Before Norm had a chance to awkwardly answer, Jake answered for him.

"Neytiri! I'm over here!" he shouted. She left Norm with his mouth hanging open as she dashed over to him.

"I should have been able to smell your human stink!" Neytiri teased, rushing eagerly over to him. But that wasn't all she smelled.

She smelled a female.

Neytiri stopped in her tracks, seeing Jake kneeling over a sleeping beautiful female with red war paint. She recognized Sh'yara instantly. Jelousy began to eat up her insides, and she looked over to Jake with scorn.

"Hey... why are you looking at me like that?" Jake asked, smile fading from his face.

"It's nothing," Neytiri said coldly, walking beside him. Jake's gaze fell down. He knew that his human form probably insulted Neytiri... and the fact that in reality he was a cripple as well probably didn't help. He'd hoped she would accept him.

_Then why is she looking at me like that? _he wondered self-consciously.

"Why is she here?" Neytiri asked, trying to hide her concern.

"She was wounded... she saw me as a human... and she tried to kill me..." Jake answered. Neytiri hissed aggressively at Sh'yara at the mention of her intentions towards her mate.

Jake smiled at the gesture, and warmly grasped her shoulder. "Easy Neytiri..." he said, wheeling in her way. "She had no way of knowing that I was a dreamwalker."

"You should have told everyone..." Neytiri said softly.

"Not all of them would have been so accepting as you..." Jake said softly, running his fingers across her cheek. Neytiri closed her eyes, yeilding herself to his touch.

"I know you..." she whispered.

Jake smiled and opened his mouth to speak.

"Not to interupt anything," Norm said sarcastically, cutting Jake off, "but the equipment is fried. We have no way of getting back into our Avatars from this terminal unless we hike it back to the base."

xxx

_(Back at the Human's encampment at Pandora)_

Parker Selfridge wasn't a warrior, he was a businessman. But even he knew enough about military tactics to know that what had just happened was impossible. One of the most badass groups of marines ever to scowl upon the earth had been killed by an assortment of flea-bitten savages armed with bows and arrows.

He pushed the rock of Unobtanium as it hovered on it's display. He'd always kept it as a reminder of what their true goal was on Pandora... to keep the Jarheads from thinking that it was a war, and the scientists from thinking it was a botany experiment. It was all about one thing... money.

The natives had ruined everything. When reports of the disaster filtered back to the shareholders, the corporation was going to tank, and likely the rest of earth's economy would follow suite.

_No... it's not the natives fault... they were never a problem before. It was Jake Sully. _

"SULLY!" Selfridge roared. He grabbed the unobtanium from the holder and threw it wildly at one of the technicians, breaking a computer.

All eyes in the command center turned to him as he huffed angrily.

"Get me every marine left on this base..." he muttered almost too soft to be heard. "Get them all into avatar bodies and tell them to destroy Jake Sully and his little friends..."

"Sir... don't they need to be matched up so their bodies are compatible..?"

"DO IT NOW!" Selfridge roared.

_Once that traitor is dead, _Selfridge thought. _The natives will go away for good. _


	2. Chapter 2: Dance of the Afari

Aftermath: From the Ashes

**  
Chapter 2: The Dance of the Afari **

_Authors Note: For all of you reading... Sh'yara is a real character in Avatar. She is the leader of the Ikran clan with the red war paint in the scene where Jake is assembling the tribes. However... I do not know her real name... so I invented one. _

_For chapters to come, i will invent more names for people and things already within the Avatar universe. If someone knows their proper names, please email them to me so I can correct them. _

_Also, I appreciate reviews greatly. Reviews are my life blood. To know that my work is being read and appreciated (or criticized) is what keeps me going. I don't care if you think that statement is me whoring for reviews... I would do unspeakable things for good constructive reviews._

_Also... I apologize for my errors in grammar and spelling. For certain reasons, I am using WordPad, which has no spellcheck, but I promise to do my best! :P _

_Enjoy! _

xxx

**Neytiri**

_(At the base of the mobile Avatar station, near the Tree of souls, 2 hours later.) _

Neytiri made sure to position herself defensively between Jake and Sh'yara, the other female.

Even thinking the name made Neytiri feel a ping of disgust. She had seen the way Sh'yara had looked at Jake when Jake was in his Na'vi body...

She saw it even if Jake didn't... she knew the signs a Na'vi female made when she sought a mate... and Sh'yara had made all of them... and more.

Jake was a hero now... a champion of the Na'vi. And even though he did not realize it, he could have any mate he wanted... any woman in any of the tribes... and she did not doubt that there were many prettier or more able than her.

It also wasn't without precedent for Jake to take a second mate... or even a third. Such a thing wouldn't be strange for one as powerful as the sixth ever Tarok Makto.

She did not know if she could share him with another woman. Even thinking of it made her feel like ice.

Just looking at his human body... even with his ghoulish pallid white skin and angular alien features, she could tell he was handsome for a man of his race. His muscles, unlike the other human, Norm, were well developed, and his features were rugged, solid-looking, and distinct. Also... even in his human form he had a certain energy and enthusiasm which made her want to smile. He had... such a strong heart.

She knew him... she knew him inside and out. She had heard a human word about human mating... "love" when she had visited the sky people's school.

She didn't understand the word... but she hoped more than she hoped to continue life... that Jake would teach her. Because she knew... no matter how short lived her life with him might be... that there was not a pleasure in the world close to what she felt in his arms.

She felt his hand rubbing her tense shoulders as she stood, ready to defend her mate in his weak state.

"Relax... she's out cold," Jake said, sounding half amused and half worried.

Neytiri felt tears welling up at her eyes. She had always been a warrior... just like the rest of her clan, but she was ashamed that she was afraid... afraid to lose him... just like she'd lost her father... her home... everything that made her feel safe and made the world seem right. It had been just an instant... just a flash.. sounds like the roar of a mighty leviathan... blinding light like an explosion of the sun... smoke... debris... bodies... shot into the air like so much sand thrown from a child's palm. Screams.. barely sounding through the vieled white noise of destruction on a scale she'd never imagined... roars from beasts called "machines" that existed without a single ounce of fear or compassion.

All that chaos and death had killed her father faster than she could even see... beyond anyone's ability of a heroic rescue... beyond any orator's skilled abilities to talk an enemy down from firing his arrow.

"Jake..." she said softly, turning her teary eyes towards him. "Jake... why did you chose me for your mate? I am not the best hunter... singer... warrior..."

Jake looked with concern into her eyes. _Why is she asking this now? Is she really having such regrets. _

Jake considered it for a moment... running his fingers down the cool steel of his wheelchair, and then answered as truthfully as he could such a difficult question. "I saw in your eyes... that you were strong. It is like when you said I had a strong heart, Neytiri," he said looking at her as if falling in love with her all over again. "You have that too."

_So you didn't fall for me because I was the cheifs daughter? _she wondered, eyes looking down to the ground.It was a question which invaded her heart.

It made sense... Jake had stumbled through the woods like a child facing death... he needed protection.

Neytiri didn't answer, but looked back at Sh'yara with a thought of dread in her mind. _Sh'yara is stronger than I am, _she thought, biting her lip. _And if he took her... he would control two clans instead of just one. _

Seeing her concern, Jake kissed her arm gently, as it was the closest thing he could access from his sitting position. Neytiri felt a pulse of warmth race through her body only to fade again into the still air. "Once I get back into my... _real _body... I will show you exactly why I chose you..." he said with a playful grin.

His smile was infectuous. Soon she was giggling, him too thinking of the first night they'd made love... and everything was all right again.

She let herself fall into his smiling eyes... and he stared back into her's.

And then Sh'yara moaned. Neytiri hissed without even thinking it, shielded Jake again.

"When she sees me again, she might get violent. She was pissed... she thought we lost the battle," Jake explained.

"Let her get... _pissed_..." Neytiri said, guessing at the meaning of the strange word. "I will spill her guts onto the ground for Eywa." Her tail flicking in preperation, she unshouldered her father's great-bow, eager to wet it's long metal jaws with her competitors blood. The bow was still grey with the ash of that day.

"Nah... I got an idea..." Jake said with a grin.

xxx

**Sh'yara**

_(One minute later) _

_Why am I still alive? _was the first thought that went through Sh'yara's head as she regained consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing the blurry overhang of the dawn jungle, but then she realized somethign was wrapped around her throat.

_Sky people, _she thought.

Cursing, Sh'yara immediately began to thrash, hissing and growling with her full set of fangs. She tried to buck her hips and scramble with her legs, but they too were held in place. She couldn't feel the soft dirt below. Something beneath her was holding her.

She looked down to see a set of blue Na'vi legs, wrapped around her waist and dug in to her thighs, holding her down.

"Just hold your arms tight around her neck and head like I showed you... keep your hand on the inside of your other arm and squeeze tight... but not too tight or she'll pass out..." the alien instructed, smiling playfully from his metal chair with wheels.

"You learned this move in the J'yar haid clan? I remember you did this to make Zaheelu with your Ikran," a female Na'vi said from beneath Sh'yara.

Sh'yara recognized the voice. "Neytiri! Bitch! Eat Ikran dung, you disgusting traitor!"

Jake ignored Sh'yara and chuckled hearing her strange pronounciation of Jarhead. "Exactly. It's called a rear naked choke," he replied.

"Does one need to be naked to do it right?" Neytiri asked with sudden concern on her face.

"Na..." Jake replied, but he thought with a playful smile, _I wish. _

Sh'yara, more frustrated than ever began to trash wildly, hissing. Jake watched with appreciation. Sh'yara was well proportioned and had very good curves with the faintest hint of muscle. He was sure that if he was in his Na'vi form he would be enjoying the spectacle immensely. _She has spirit._

But despite her efforts, it was futile... Neytiri was pressed up against her, hip to hip, too snugly for Sh'yara to even dream to escape. The hold seemed to work as well on Na'vi as it did on humans, despite their increased flexibility.

After a continued struggle, Sh'yara's breathing got labored and features got even more frustrated, she finally gave up.

"Tell me one thing traitor..." Sh'yara began between pants. "Did you betray Jakesulee and give his head to the sky people? Is that how you earned your place among them?"

Rather than answering truthfully and clearing up the confusion, Neytiri felt anger instead. "What right you have to ask this question? Jake Sully is not your mate!"

"He should have been," she spat back. Neytiri's eyes opened wide with wrath as she cried out incredulously, and suddenly Sh'yara lost her voice as the arm around her throat constricted like a vice.

All that came out of her mouth was a thin whisp of air as the blood was suddenly cut off from her brain. "He chose me... I already know him..." she said in short, angry bursts.

"Enough Neytiri! Don't kill her!" Jake shouted.

Sh'yara suddenly recognized the alien's voice even as her consciousness was slipping away. She began to connect the dots.

That Neytiri still was jealous for her mate, even now that she was consorting with the sky people.

Neytiri blinked, and shook herself from her anger as if coming awake from her rage, looking with shame to Jake that she'd allowed her jealousy to show through, and released the young clan leader from her grip.

Sh'yara began coughing and gasping for air, Jake looked down at her with concern, which made Neytiri feel even worse.

Sh'yara couldn't believe it... but the alien's face... it was... she was almost too horrified to say, but too fascinated not to.

"Jakesulee?" she asked, wide-eyed.

He nodded curtly.

"Is a dreamwalker?"

He nodded again. And in a moment, Sh'yara found herself laughing at the irony.

"And I'm Norm," Norm said with a wave. "You are the leader of the Ikran clan of the coast, right?"

Sh'yara raised her eyebrows at the strange human before snorting dismissively.

Norm, Jake, and the two Na'vi females talked together for hours before the land grew dark. They talked about dying earth and it's dead mother... the human race... and the many things that the dreamwalkers still did not understand about the Na'vi.

Neytiri placed her head onto Jake's chest, listening to his heart beat as he watched the sun set into the bleeding horizon, casting a red hue over the flourescant nightscape of Pandora.

Slowly, as the bloody light melted away, the scattered stars faded into place. Jake remembered the first few times he'd witnessed the natural miracles of Pandora. Norm and the other scientists had described the visuals in almost a religious way... swept up in the beauty in a way that could only be seen as deeply spiritual. Every moment Jake spent on Pandora, he understood this spiritualism more and more.

The jungle itself began to glow with teals, blues, and purples, pulsing as if the plants themselves were alive.

"It's very pretty..." Jake said softly.

"The Na'vi say..." Neytiri began, nuzzling against him, "that our father..." she said, pointing to the large, glowing blue gas giant above, "and our mother," she continued, pointing to towards the last rays of the setting sun, "fell in love... and from their union came the stars, which they planted as seeds throughout the universe... but every day the mother's love fades and she leaves father alone in the sky... when she is gone... the ferns, the flowers, the vines, and the leaves above... all of Eywa's children glow in sorrow and remembrance of her light."

Jake smiled, running his hands through her hair.

"But she comes back to him..."

"Yes," she said her eyes calm and peaceful, licking his face just like she'd always wanted to. "She comes back to him."

"Hey I was thinking..." Norm interrupted, busily packing equipment into a bag.

Jake showed a brief look of amused annoyance. "Yes?"

"We really out to go out there and gather the survivors... a lot of Na'Vi died out there today... and they have no leader... I mean this has been fun and all... but most of the tribal leaders are dead... the tribes are in chaos..."

Jake frowned. "I can't do that... they barely accepted you as a warrior, Norm... they wouldn't accept me as a leader knowing what I am. With all this death... they might even kill me when they see me like this... or you."

Norm nodded in sullen agreement. As much as he'd fallen in love with the Na'vi, he understood their distrust of humans quite well. In fact, with humans like the bastard colonel, he could empathize. Norm smiled, flexing his hand.

It was still sore from when he'd struck the Marine a few days before. He wouldn't have dreamed of hitting a Marine before this big mess, but Jake's attitude had rubbed off on him. The fact that the Na'vi had chosen Jake to join their clan rather than so many other scientists had really made an impression on him.

"Jakesulee..." Sh'yara said in a low tone, from where she lay flat against the tree, looking towards him almost challengingly, "I will take Norm to the survivors... I still command what is left of my tribe... and I will probably be in a position to assume control of many of the other tribes as well."

Neytiri lifted her head from Jake's stomach with a snap, looking over at Sh'yara with contemp. _Not my tribe... never my tribe. _

Neytiri grimaced at Sh'yara before chosing her words carefully.

"Your leg still bleeds. You are too weak to make the journey to the tree of souls with the human," she challenged.

Sh'yara smiled back at Neytiri mockingly, mischief sparkling behind her eyes. "Make the dance of the Afari with me. I will show you that my leg is healed enough."

Neytiri bristled in surprise, and then looked over to Jake fearfully.

_Strength, _she remembered. _He values my strength. _Suddenly, she was afraid again. _What if I lose? I am not very skilled with the Afari. _

"I would not use my Afari on a wounded girl," Neytiri said, absent-mindedly touching the Afari cord that hung from her waist.

"If I am as wounded as you say... you should be able to beat me easily without hurting me. Or..." she said, with an assertive huff from her nostrils "does the prospect of dancing the Afari with me

really _terrify _you so?"

Neytiri did all she could to keep herself from hissing at Sh'yara's accusation. Instead, she clenched her hands into a fist. Sh'yara smiled. She knew there was no way Neytiri could back down now, especially in front of her mate.

"Not at all," she replied, clicking her tongue sharply, "We will dance," Neytiri said, absolute murder glowing in her eyes. "And you will lose."

"Hey... you galls should calm down this isn't necessary," Jake finally called out, somewhat confused by the interchange.

"No," Neytiri said coldly, holding up her palm to Jake before glaring back to Sh'yara. "No... it is necessary."

As the two women got up to face one another, Jake looked over to Norm for help. "What's going on man... what's this dance of the Atari?"

"Afari!" Norm corrected, shaking his head in irritation at Jake's ignorance. "I heard a reference to the dance of the Afari only one time. It's a mating ritual."

"Mating?" Jake asked incredulously.

"Yes... when two men approach the same woman she can ask the men to dance the Afari together. The winner of the match then becomes the mate to the female... they're fighting over you."

"That's crazy! I love Neytiri..." Jake whispered back.

"Do not interfere... you will wound Neytiri's pride," Norm advised. "Just sit back and enjoy the show."

The two were facing each other now. Their view of each other was clear, save for a few vines hanging down from the limbs above. Neytiri could feel the pulse of battle building within her. She began to swing her Afari in a circle at her side listening to it's noise as it swished through the air, staring into the eyes of her competitor.

Sh'yara held her Afari taught between her hands in front of her. And still... on her face... was a smile.

"Good luck Neytiri," Jake whispered. It wasn't loud enough for either to hear. "EEEYAAAA!" Sh'yara cried, dashing forwards. Jake was amazed. Her feet were a blur.

"YAAAEEEHH!" Neytiri whopped back, rushing forwards to meet her.

xxx

_(Emerging from a Cryo ship sent from Earth) _

The reports of the unpleasantness of prolonged cryo weren't exagerated.

"Fucking hell," Alice mumbled to herself, rubbing her head. It felt like someone had dropped a brick on it, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She was a Marine after all.

She heard the voice of a technician instructing the disoriented passengers. "_You have been in Cryo for almost six years. You may be thirsty. Please head to the end of the room for water and prepare yourselves for the shuttle. Welcome to Pandora_."

"Tell me you're not going to Pandora for _him_," her father had said coldly, seven years ago.

"Na, I'm going for the pay. God knows we need the money," she'd replied. It wasn't really a big lie. They did need the money.

Fraternization, like smoking weed on tour, was against military regs... but it happened. Normally, it was no big deal. The physicality was comforting during the stress of campaigns... but she'd really liked Jake.

And after he was hit in the bush of Venezuala on recon... she remembered he'd only returned one of her letters.

"_I don't want you to pity me, Alice_..." it'd read.

"God damn you Jake Sully," she said to herself as she pulled herself to the gravity normalization chamber, guided by techs in white outfits.

_I'm just here for the pay, _she lied to herself again.

"_We must inform you all... that the situation on Pandora has changed_..."


	3. Chapter 3: For Your Money

Aftermath: From the Ashes

**  
Chapter 3: For Your Money**

_Author's note: I'd like to thank everyone for reading, and the reviews as well! _

_I want to re-assure everyone that this isn't going to become a Harem... lol... I do plan on developing some more male characters to throw in to the mix... some Na'vi ones as well. Multiple tribes of the Na'vi will be explored (That is to say... if my story runs out the way I've been thinking it in my head) _

_Also, don't worry about Jake ditching Neytiri... _

_He loves her 3_

The footsteps of the two women weaved through the underbrush quickly, almost at full sprint. At the last moment, Sh'yara dropped into a quick roll along the moist earth, ducking beneath the whistle of Neytiri's Afari swing in a spray of dirt, and coming to her feet behind her.

Neytiri, eyes wide with surprise, wheeled around fast and cocked her leg, kicking Sh'yara's already wounded kneecap in with a swift kick, earning from Sh'yara an angry hiss, but before Neytiri could take advantage of the distraction, Sh'yara spun, tossing a hanging vine onto Neytiri, tangling her.

Sh'yara leapt behind Neytiri gracefully and as Neytiri threw the vine off of her, but felt pain on the back of her scalp.

In the moment Neytiri had let her out of her sight, Sh'yara had grabbed her ponytail, trapping her. _She's fast._

Almost immediately after, Sh'yara slammed her free hand into the base of Neytiri's back. _And She's strong, _Neytiri realized, wincing at the sharp pain that shot up her spine.

Sh'yara yanked viciously on Neytiri's hair, almost pulling Neytiri to the ground, but Neytiri scrambled with her flexible legs and managed to keep her balance.

Giving a haggard shout, Neytiri planted her feet into the ground and pushed off as hard as she could. The world turned around as she did a backflip, landing behind Sh'yara.

_Grab my hair will you bitch? _Neytiri thought with a snarl. She knew she could take advantage of it.

Jerking back with her head, Sh'yara struggled to keep hold of Neytiri's hair and was momentarily pulled off balance, stepping quickly to regain it.

But Neytiri wasn't about to let her. Grinning, she tripped Sh'yara's stumbling legs with her thigh and then brought the bottom of her hand down onto the top of Sh'yara's collarbone.

Sh'yara was forced to roll away from Neytiri, retreating momentarily. Slowly rising up to her feet again and feeling the hot pain that burried deep into her shoulder, Sh'yara grinned, her eyes bright with blood-lust.

The respite didn't last long before Sh'yara attacked again.

Jake could hardly follow the two women as they fought. It was as if, using their arms and legs, they were speaking a language that he could not understand.

And it was... in it's own way, a thing of beauty. Norm also watched with a sense of wonder and appreciation.

But it wasn't too far into the fight before Neytiri was in trouble. Sh'yara was moving faster, and every once in a while, Neytiri dodges came too late, and she was hit by grazing blows with the Afair.

"Comon Neytiri... kick her ass," Jake muttered.

But somewhere in the punches, counters, slaps, kicks, and grabs, Sh'yara put the Afari around Neytiri's neck, throwing her to the ground.

The two fell, rolling along the underbrush in a tangle of limbs. Neytiri yelped as Sh'yara punched her solidly in the face. Jake saw blood.

If Jake had legs at that moment, he would have gotten up, but he couldn't. He clenched his fist, and did everything he could to keep himself from interfering. _Damn this human body. _

Norm put his hand onto Jake's shoulder. "She'll be all right. She's a tough girl," Norm reassured.

"I hope so, man," Jake said.

The fight went still with Sh'yara mounted on top of Neytiri's stomach, her Afari wrapped around Neytiri's throat. Licking the trickle of blood which ran from her lip, Sh'yara raised her arm and gave a victory cry. "Woo woo woooOO!" Neytiri closed her eyes, and turned her face away from Jake.

The fight was over.

Neytiri was looking bad. Blood was running freely from her nose, and bruises were already forming on her face, stomach, and legs. But worst of all, was her eyes. After the triumphant Sh'yara got up, Neytiri gingerly lifted herself to her feet, her face cold as stone.

She turned away, and began to shuffle into the woods.

"Neytiri!" Jake shouted after her, but she just walked faster in the other direction, slowly fading as she pushed her way into the glowing trees.

Neytiri pushed her way through the think underbrush, having lost all of her normal grace in her wounds. _I can't believe I lost the dance... I have brought shame to my father... to my people... and Jake... _

**xxxxx**

"Your mate was a worthy adversary... and she fought with passion," Sh'yara said with a curt bow. Blood still dripped down from her nose, and signs of injury adored her soft blue skin, but there was a certain light in her yellow eyes when she looked at him.

Jake kept himself from saying something out of anger that he might regret, remembering this woman's importance as a clan leader of a Na'vi tribe, so he only responded with a nod.

Sh'yara smiled to herself, wiping the blood from her face as she turned towards the brook, wakling in slow, deliberate strides. Yes... Jake Sully was a dreamwalker... and an alien... but he was also the Tarok Makto.

And he was also loyal to Neytiri... for now.

Sh'yara knelt down her back facing Jake and Norm, gazing at her reflection in the water. She saw in her own reflection, a hint of insecurity as she studied her own face.

Shaking her head, she cupped a handful of water from the stream. She brought the glassy water up and massaged her face, watching the dry red dye and the mud drip down between her long fingers. When her face was clear, she looked back over her shoulder with her yellow eyes, which seemed to glow in the night air back at Jake.

She smiled at him before vanishing into the woods.

"That girl is trouble... she's broadcasting all kinds of mating signs," Norm said with an appreciative huff.

"Yeah..." Jake agreed, wondering if Norm was jealous. "Yeah, she is."

"Our huntresses are gone... we better get inside the station..." Norm said, looking out warily into the darkness. The glowing light of the plants had begin to dim in anticipation for the rising sun, but the sun had not yet risen, the result was a shroud of blackness which covered the jungle.

"Yeah... nice call Norm," Jake agreed... and then he remembered how difficult it was to wheel his wheelchair out this far through the dirt. _I got this, _Jake thought to himself as he pushed hard on the wheels. He grit his teeth with exertion as his arms worked hard to push his wheelchair along, but the ferns and the soft dirt seemed almost determined to suck the wheelchair tires down.

"Do you need some help?" Norm asked softly, knowing it was a touchy subject for Jake. Jake immediately stiffened at the offer.

"No, I'm good," Jake replied icily, glaring upwards.

Norm knew better than to push the point, but then he heard the whimper of a dire hound from the darkness behind them.

"Jake..." Norm warned, looking back to see a pair of glowing eyes.

A look of anger and frustration came over Jake as he battled his pride and his rationality. _Neytiri needs me... I need to be careful. _

Jake nodded his assent, but he couldn't bring himself to ask for help. Soon Norm was pushing his wheelchair along, glancing nervously back.

"You're a cool guy, Norm," Jake finally said as they rolled inside, shutting out the jungle with the click of a reinforced door.

"Yeah... damn I wish a woman like Neytiri could see that..." Norm said wishfully as he pulled two meal-packs from the cabinet, tossing one to Jake.

"Neytiri only warmed up to me when she saw that I was learning their ways," Jake said as he opened the meal packet. "Instant eggs huh?"

"All we got left," Norm said with a shrug.

"Once... or if we get our bodies back... I'll make sure to assign an attractive female to train you how to be a hunter. You'll be shooting arrows and choosing mates in no time," Jake said with a boyish grin.

Norm smiled appreciatively before pausing, as if pondering something profound. "I just got an idea..." Norm said, his eyes lighting up.

"Shoot," Jake said curiously.

"What if I could rig the Colonel's Mech's battery to this station as a power source for the Avatar machines?"

Jake grinned, slamming his palm onto the table enthusiastically. "If you did that Norm, forget getting a mate... I'd freakin sleep with you!"

Laughing excitedly, Norm made his way to the door, grabbing a flashlight. "Cover me?"

Jake grabbed his machine gun and hefted it in a combat stance. "Oohrah!"

**xxxxx**

_(One-hundred Yards into the Jungle) _

Neytiri knelt over Jake's sleeping Avatar. It was just her, him... and the sounds of the forest. For a Na'vi, he was very handsome. As she looked at him, she remembered when she first began to fall in love with him.

Jake had humor and warmth that the other males were too afraid to show. He had been open and even humorous about his mistakes.

She looked down and realized that the body was smiling in it's slumber, and almost instantly, she was smiling too. Jake had that effect on her... even when "Jake" was an empty shell. _Did I fall in love with an empty shell? _

It was something she did not understand.

She knelt over him, kissing his cheek. When she brought her head back up, she saw with embarassment that she'd gotten blood on him.

Cursing, she spat bloody saliva onto the ground, and wiped her bloody lips before licking his cheek clean.

"You don't waste any time do you?" Sh'yara teased from behind her.

Neytiri leapt in front of Jake's body, hissing in alarm.

"I come for no quarrel, Neytiri," Sh'yara said, bowing deeply. "I come only... to speak."

"We are not playing your silly Afari anymore," Neytiri hissed, eyes narrowed. "Here in the woods, real weapons will kill you. No game!"

Sh'yara chuckled empitly, a sad look coming over her face. Neytiri regretted being so aggressive.

"I'm sorry, Sh'yara," Neytiri apologized. Sh'yara shook her head.

"You think... I shamed you... humiliated you in front of your mate, Neytiri... but in truth... I humiliated myself. I was such a fool," Sh'yara said shaking her head. "Such a fool to think I could take him from you. The power of Jakesulee's love for you... that power won this war for us. His love for you... it saved our people."

Shocked, Neytiri could just watch her with wide, glowing eyes as she spoke.

"That was not my first dance of the Afari," Sh'yara stated, sitting beside Neytiri. She breathed deeply, preparing herself to tell a story which lay deep within her soul. Looking down, she continued.

"I was the chief's daughter... and our Priestess had no son, which meant that I could chose any male in the tribe to be my mate. I chose a male who was strong, and kind, and smart, but he did not chose me." A deep look of sadness went over Sh'yara as she breathed deep to continue.

"Another female chose him too... she was a quiet girl... weak... a poor hunter, but a good singer. He could not chose me over her... but he didn't want to dare insult the chief's daughter... so he let us do the dance of the Afari... but I could tell..." she said, looking into Neytiri's eyes with a penetrating self-pity.

"I could tell he wanted her over me... so I let her... beat me."

"Sh'yara..." Neytiri muttered empathetically.

Neytiri rose to her feet, and after an apologetic smile, the two women were hugging. "My sister... just as long as you don't steal my Jake."

"Who knows... I might get lucky," Sh'yara said with a laugh.

"Hey girls... I hope you're playing nice..." Jake said, his deep voice ringing with amusement. Neytiri gasped in delight and released the hug, running over to Jake's body as he rose to his feet.

"You're back!" she said, jumping beside him, her eyes sparkling. He stared right back into her's.

"Norm worked some magic... and I'll always come back, remember?" he asked, reminding her of their talk.

Just looking in to his eyes seemed to suck her in. She moved forward without even realizing it, as if in a trance, her eyes wide and dialated, her breathing getting faster.

"I remember," she said breathlessly.

And in an instant their lips were reunited. Eyes closed, she kissed him urgently, running her hands over his strong shoulders and back as if she would never let go. She felt the world go weightless as he scooped her slender body up in his arms and began to walk.

She felt so warm... so safe in his arms. They continued to kiss tenderly as they moved.

He jumped, submerging both of them in the cool water of a brook. Neytiri gave a playful hiss when she came up, splashing him. Laughing, he splashed her back, and dove beneath the sloshing waters, grasping her tail. She giggled, trying to wiggle away, but he came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"Jake..." she said passionately, melting in to his embrace.

He began to gently run his wet hands up and down her body, carefully cleaning her of the blood and the grime that had covered her. And each motion of his hands along her skin brightened the flame that burned inside her.

Jake was breathing heavy now too as he washed her, and he began to kiss her neck from over her shoulder. Neytiri gasped in delighted surprise, but she wanted to use her hands too.

She escaped his grasp, bared her fangs at him, and tackled him, kissing him passionately.

"I know you," she said between pants.

"I love you, Neytiri..." Jake answered.

**xxxxx**

_(Human Recon Patrol, far behind enemy lines) _

"We're going to go in fast, and we're going in hard," Major Briggs said over his shoulder, nearly in a growl. "There's gonna be plenty of targets to go around in blue monkey central so no one worry."

The recon marines nodded in silence. Their faces and limbs were painted up with camo paint. Their uniforms were stuffed with local plants.

They were a shadow... a spectre of death in the night. The Na'Vi thought they had the advantage in the forest... but they hadn't yet experienced the stealth of recon Marines.

Alice kept her silenced assualt rifle at the ready as they crept along, moving through the bush without a sound, as they reached the crest of a small hill, the major gave a hand signal, and they all crawled along the ground, looking like little more than a bunch of ferns, blowing in the wind.

The Major had even had all the marines bath themselvse in mud and very putrid plants, to rid themselves of their human stink.

As Alice crawled, she saw a pair of yellow eyes in the canopy above, slowly turn down towards them.

She aimed, exhaled, and pulled the trigger. There was a series of rapid clicks from the action of her silenced rifle as a few traces flew from her gun. The dead corpse of a Na'vi fell stiffly from the trees, tumbling to the ground.

"Good kill," the Major whispered.

"OohRah," Alice replied.

Their mission was simple. They were going to fight terror with terror. It was clear that they couldn't match the Na'vi in pure force of arms... so they needed to scatter the tribes with something else... fear... a commodity very close to the heart of the Recon Marines.


	4. Chapter 4: Eywa's Requiem

Aftermath: From the Ashes

**  
Chapter 4: **

_Author's Note: Thank you everyone for the reviews!_

_Hahah... yeah... Alice. I didn't think anyone would catch that. Lol! _

_In regards to the review about Norm... I gotta lol, because you're so right. Right now... Norm is a guy without a niche... I'll try to find one for him! _

**xxxxx**

Jake watched the darkness that had covered the land began to lift as he held Neytiri in his arms, feeling her breath, feeling her heartbeat. He breathed with her. His heart beat with her. It was like... Zaheelu.

And Jake loved it.

"She's coming back... for you," Jake said, kissing Neytiri on her soft shoulder as the glow of the sun sliced over the horizon. .

"My silly Jake," she said with a satisfied sigh. She nuzzled against him, feeling peaceful.

The warm light began to cut beneath the canopy, illuminating the lush greens of the ferns, along with the countless colors of exotic flowers poking out from below them.

Jake had to shield his eyes as the glassy surface of the brook they'd slept beside shone like crystal in the sun's light. All around them, the jungle stirred back to life.

Jake and Neytiri watched the rebirth in appreciative silence, but something caught Jake's eye. Behind a curtain of vines, there was movement. And in Pandora... movement could often be very bad.

Jake stiffened. "Something is moving over there..." he warnedy, grasping his bow and arrows from where they lay, and swiftly knocking and drawing an arrow in to place.

"Where?" Neytiri asked with concern, following the direction of his arrow. However, when she saw what had raised Jake's concern, she giggled to herself, covering her mouth.

"What is it?" Jake asked, slowly letting the bow go back into place.

"Come!" Neytiri said, pulling on him to his feet.

She led him through the vines playfully, her tail rubbing against him as they ran. When they arrived she giggled, pointing.

Then Jake realized that the movement he'd seen was flowers. Broad white flowers, reacting to the sunlight. They were unravelling from compact pods, opening to bask in the sun. He felt his breath escape him as he stared in wonder.

"Those are the Mamasha... She opens only for the sun," she explained. She looked back to Jake, seeing the way his eyes lit up in amazement... like a child.

"Then... consider me your Mamasha," he said. Neytiri suddenly felt a twinge of humiliation at her previous jealousy... and her doubt.

He knelt down, pulling the flower from the stem. Neytiri gasped in protest, but Jake just shook his head, smiling. "Close your eyes," he said.

Neytiri closed her eyes, and felt his gentle hands as they parted her hair, and then felt the stem of the flower slide in. "Some camoflogue," he said.

"Jake... those plants are rare..." she said, opening her eyes again.

"And so are you," he said, appreciating just how beautiful she looked with the flower in her hair. It was prettier than the most expensive diamond back home. Jake wondered what Earth might look like if humans hadn't erradicated all the flowers like the Mamasha in their greed.

He had seen the anxiety in her face when Sh'yara had looked at him earlier. _You have nothing to worry about Neytiri... _

Jake paused, and decided to say something that had been weighing on his mind. "Would I make a good king?"

The question took Neytiri by surprise, but after a moment of thought, she knew the answer.

"Yes, you would make a very good king," she answered decisively.

"I want... to help rebuild everything. To help rebuild the people," Jake said defensively. "It's not like I want power."

Neytiri nodded understandingly.

"Now... to the real question. Would you make a good Queen?" he said with a grin.

She smiled broadly at him. "Oohrah!" she answered. Jake couldn't help but burst into laughter. _She must have heard me say it a few times during my training, _he thought. "This is J'yarhedd battle cry yes?"

"I'm not sure if that is the right place to use it," Jake explained, tickling her. Neytiri giggled.

"You must teach me, then," she said. As the two started laughing again, a rich aroma wafted past Jake's nostrils,.

"I smell... cooked meat..." Jake said, raising his nose to the air, catching the rich smell that spiced the air. "Sh'yara must have taken some prey... race you back?"

"You think you can move with me, you baby?" she chided.

He grinned at her and then set off as fast as his legs could take him.

He could hear her right behind him. Jake felt his legs pumping beneath him, spraying dirt up into the air as the vines and trees of the jungle moved past him faster and faster. Soon, the ground below him was moving in a blur, the wind whipping past his face. He was moving faster than he'd ever moved as a human, vaulting fallen logs, leaping over small streams, and stepped gracefully among the underbrush like Neytiri had taught him.

Coming to some dense, tangled brush, he looked to the canopy above for a path, and swung himself up with a branch. Soon, he was leaping from branch to branch, feeling leaves and branches as he crashed through them. Once the thick brush below cleared up, Jake jumped down, rolling right back into a sprint.

Just a few steps after his roll, Jake heard Neytiri give a victory whoop, He was forced to duck as she leapt from a branch above, landing right in front of him. From over her slender shoulders, he could see the shining metal of the Avatar station looming closer.

_Showoff _

When Norm and Sh'yara looked up from cooking, Jake was just a step behind her, but the race was over. Jake skidded to a halt, sending up a spray of rich earth.

"Still... like a baby," she teased between pants. Jake winked at her, before turning to the others.

"Let's finish this meal quickly..." Jake said, sitting beside Sh'yara at the fire. She eyed his body, glistening with persperation, up and down with her catlike eyes in almost a predatory way, with the smallest smile.

Jake ignored her, gulping one big breath before he spoke. "A lot of the tribes probably have us marked for dead at this point, who knows what kind of confusion and troubles they're dealing with. They are our people... and we must, as leaders of the Na'vi, do something."

"Our people... not your people, Jake," Sh'yara said with a dark smile that showed a few of her long fangs.

"How dare you," Neytiri hissed, crouching readily beside her, hand hovering over the sheath of her dagger.

Sh'yara was unphased. "I wonder how the tribes would react if they knew Jake Sulley was a dreamwalker... they might even elect... _me _instead... as Queen," Sh'yara continued.

"Sh'yara... we're all on the same side here," Norm pleaded.

She motioned with her hand as if to silence him. "You force me to decieve my people," Sh'yara said. "What price are you willing to pay for me to make this sin?"

"My loyalty... my promise that..." Jake began

Sh'yara made the same motion again, cutting him off.

"No false words," she warned. "My price... for my cooperation is simple. Make love to me... as if I were her," she said pointing to Neytiri.

Neytiri drew her dagger in one swift motion, sinking lower to the ground.

"Or... maybe you died of your wounds fighting the sky people and never made it from the jungle," she said, holding the dagger menacingly in front of her glowing eyes.

"Neytiri..." Jake said sadly.

She looked back to him, shaking her head furiously. "No... no..." she begged.

"Ahahah, joking! I am just joking!" Sh'yara said with a laugh. Sh'yara was the only one who seemed to be amused. "But I may ask you my price another time... do not forget that Jake."

Jake exhaled in relief. "Everyone has lost their Ikran's right?" Jake asked.

Neytiri nodded sullenly. She didn't want to look at Jake.

"Well then... we're going to need to hike it."

**xxxxx**

_(Came of the Namaku clan, 40 miles west of the tree of souls) _

"For all that we take, must be returned," the Priestess called to Eywa, raising her arms to the sky, but the words were empty, her voice was shaking with sadness.

What was left of the Namaku clan gathered around the hole, hand-dug into the soft earth, some of the survivors sobbed bitterly, struck by the sheer volume of death that had befallen their once-mighty tribe. All that had ridden out to do battle with the sky people... had come back... different...

They were empty, like rivers without water.

They had been a proud clan of horsemen... before the battle. Now they were nothing more than a leaderless handful of survivors in a strange land. Their youngest and strongest... were now in the hands of Eywa.

The few bodies or charred body-parts that the warriors had returned with were resting at the bottom of the hole. Very few of the corpses were prestine. Instead, they were mutilated and torn to pieces by the sky people's monsters

... and so many more warriors were simply missing, rotting forgotten within the bush somewhere in the smoldering battlefield.

The rest of the clan watched in saddened silence as the Priestess then knelt down, dropped the seeds from the sacred tree down onto the dead from a large basket. They drifted down, waving in the breeze before coming to rest upon the corpses. And then... Eywa began to cry.

The rain came slowly at first, but soon it was thundering down, raining down in sheets. The grave began to flood over and only the seeds floated upon the surface.

It had been difficult to collect the correct number of seeds... one-hundred and forty seven, the number of warriors that had been killed in the battle. Children, parents, siblings... now nothing more than just names and memories.

The Priestess then nodded, a signal to the tribe to begin burying the corpses. They shovelled the dirt into the flooded grave, each handful landing with a splash.

"Father!" one small girl screamed, trying to jump into the grave. She was held back by an old woman, who tried to speak comforting words, but the little girl just kept screaming. "Father! Father!"

**xxxxx**

_(Twenty yards in the jungle behind them) _

"What the fuck is that monkey shoutin' bout?" Klepto asked in a whisper. He'd taken cover at the crook of a tree, using it to steady his rifle.

"Shit if I know," Alice muttered back from her prone position at the base of a large fern, feeling the re-assuring presence of her scope pressed into her eye socket. She messaged the trigger of her rifle, ready to pull, keeping the green dot of her sight steady on the head of her target. It was difficult with the waterdrops clouding her scope, so she popped it off using just her eye.

In the past hundred years, the basic rifle design hadn't changed all that much. Of course, the weapons had gotten lighter, more durable, more reliable... and also... more customizable.

"Stay frosty... sixty tangoes, that's three tangoes a'piece," Major Briggs said in a near-snarl, "pick your targets."

Alice aimed for the head of the little one making all the noise, as she steadied her breathing. Water dripped down from the strands of her blond hair.

"Smoke 'em."

The scraggly hillside suddenly errupted with muzzle flashes. Silenced rounds tore through the air at high velocity, screaching through the air like banshees.

The basic designs of all their rifles were the same, but with each of their customizations, every one was quite unique.

Alice's rifle kicked back strong. She liked a good strong kick. Good effect on target that way... the bullet tore the small blue alien's head apart.

"GET SOME!" one of the marines shouted.

She began to adjust her fire from target to target as they scrambled away. The corpses splashed upon the wet ground. Their blood, carried by the rainwater, pooled above the shallow area of the grave. For each target, she took one shot, feeling the kick of her rife... watching the ejection of the smoking shell.

"COVER!" Briggs warned. Alice dropped the target she had in her sights before turning her head to see what the danger was.

A black arrow... a very big black arrow. Alice exhaled in surprise and then, it hit her like a freight train. Alice dropped her rifle as she felt all the breath rush from her lungs as it punched her shoulder. Rolling to her back, she began to draw quick, panicked breaths, but the flash of rifles continued, lighting the canopy above with flashing lights as she watched.

As Alice figured it... lots of people died dry, lonely deaths to the sound of heart moniters and smell of anti-biotics. At least she could go out with a some flashing lights, the percussive thunder of machine guns... and a pretty big check for her family.

She smiled, remembering the words of her favorite Mony Python Classic that she'd always watched as a kid as she grasped the thick shaft of the arrow which stapled her painfully to the ground through her shoulderblade... "_Always look on the bright side of life._"

At first, the shock of the hit took away most of the pain, but as the shock began to subside, Alice felt like screaming in agony... and a few moments later, she was.

_If life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten, and that's to laugh and dance and smile and sing. _

Alice's vision began to blur with the rain that pooled in her eyes like tears. The jungle above her danced from the millions of raindrops that animated it. It was beautiful. The way the light shined from the wet leaves as they moved made the canopy sparkle.

_When you're feelin in the dumps, dont be silly chumps, just purse your lips and whistle, that's the thing. _

The last Na'vi warrior was shredded by combined gunfire.

_Always look on the bright side of death, just before you draw your terminal breath. _

Briggs' face loomed over her as she felt her pulse weaken. "You even get scratched by one of those bitches, you're gone," Briggs said to the other marines. "She's toast, let's roll."

_Life is a piece of shit, when you look at it. Life's a laugh and death's a joke it's true. you'll see it's just a show, keep on laughing as you go, just remember the last laugh is on you. _

Alice realized before she blacked out, that it had been far more than just a minute and she hadn't felt any affects of the neurotoxin. _The arrow wasn't poisoned. _

At this point though... in Pandora... that was more of a curse than a blessing.

A few weak breaths letter and she blacked out.

**xxxxx**

_(Jake and the three others, heading towards the tree of Souls) _

Jake's ear twitched as he heard a sound both distinct and familiar.

"Gunfire," he said in alarm. Neytiri unshouldered her bow, and gave a soft hiss.

A grin came to Sh'yara's face. "Let's not waste time," she said, unshouldering her bow as well. Giving a nod, soon they were all tearing through the woods.

"If we get there a second sooner... that could be a life! Don't forget!" Jake called out.

Norm had never been trained to move like the others, and soon fell behind. In the thick jungle, it wasn't long before he lost sight of them, and not too long after that, he stubbed one of his toes on a root.

Swearing, Norm stopped, panting from the exertion.

_It's no use... I'm a scientist. I've never been a grunt like Jake... _

"Hey dreamwalker!" a female Na'vi voice shouted. Norm stiffened. He was clearly wearing clothes which gave away the fact that he was a dreamwalker... probably not a wise decision considering most of the Na'vi had just been wiped out by his people, but when he turned to see the female warrior approaching him, she didn't seem hostile.

".... Hello, pleasure to meet you" Norm said weakly, remembering what Dr. Augustine had told him about formality.

She was wearing the normal hunter's garb, and had some faded war-paint painted across her nose.

"So... you know our language at least," she said with an appreciative huff, "I want to talk to you before I kill you."

**xxxxx**

_Ending Notes: Thanks for reading! If you have never heard Monty Python's "Always look on the bright side of life", check it out on youtube. It's really a classic. _

_Also... I'd like to say I wrote with the inspiration of Hans Zimmer's Tears of the Sun. "The Journey Part 3", and "Variations on a theme" and both tracks are beautiful. _

_I have a __**question **__for all my readers: I usually start off my stories with OC's. Do you think that this is a mistake? Do you think it scares off readers? _

_Please tell me what you think in your reviews! :) _


	5. Chapter 5: Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

Aftermath: From the Ashes

**  
Chapter 5: Only Easy Day Was Yesterday**

_Author's Note: _

_Important__: I have been assuming, that for the most part, the Na'vi have been communicating amongst each other in their native tongue, even though I have written it in English. I'll try to clear it up when they are speaking English... but if I don't, just read it in the way that makes the most sense... I'd rather not have to keep saying "he said in English" or "She said in 'Na'vi' (I forget the name of the Na'vi language)." _

_My new OC? A Mary-Sue?... *Gasp* what an allegation!_

_Don't worry... I have a nice drama point planned out for Norm... i think. _

**xxxxx**

_(Site of the massacre) _

Nothing was alive by the time they had arrived. Sh'yara's nose wrinkled in revulsion with the smell of cooked flesh, sickeningly similar to the smell of their breakfast... except the meat was cooked Na'vi.

"Rest well, sister," Sh'yara said sadly, closing the lifeless eyes of one of the few victims of the attack not to be tossed in to the flames, an elderly woman. All victims burned except for a boy and a few old women.

Behind her, Jake was examining a spear that protruded from the dead. "Hey Neytiri..." he called out. "What is this symbol here? It looks familiar."

"Yes... I know..." she muttered distantly. "It is the symbol of the Omaticaya."

"strange..." Jake said with a frown. _There's no mistaking it though... I heard gunfire. _

"The sky people must have stolen the spears... from the bodies of our clansmen," she said, looking over to him fearfully.

"We'll check up on the base camp later," Jake assured.

"Yes," Sh'yara interrupted, eyes blazing with malice. "We check up on people later... much later. But now... we find those that did this, and we feed Eywa with their blood."

Jake noticed that Neytiri was just as angry as Sh'yara, but brooded in silence rather than expressed her rage openly. _They handle loss differently. _

Jake nodded, sobered by the rage he was feeling. As a marine he'd always been told to stay calm... to feel less and do as he was told, but he just couldn't look at a dead child and feel nothing anymore. It made him... enraged.

He remembered when the Colonel had asked him "_What does it feel like to betray your own race?" _

At the time, he'd felt such anger and adrenaline that he'd only hissed, but if he had the chance to re-visit that moment... he would have said... _It feels good. _ Because sometimes... humanity deserved to be betrayed.

Neytiri put her face to the dirt. "Alien tracks," she said, studying the impressions boots had made in the soft dirt. "They came... and then they left in the same direction," Neytiri pointed to the hill behind the clearing.

Jake nodded his understanding. He knew the mindset of a Marine. He knew the dense hillside would make an ideal ambush on the clearing, as the view gave a broad range of fire.

He moved up to the base of the hill, looking for a place he would have set up for an ambush had he been a member of the team, Neytiri right on his heels.

He found it, a crook of a tree with some disturbed leaves behind it.

Pacing behind it, he looked down for the tell-tale sign of any firefight. Rustling the leaves, he saw it, a glint of brass. "Shell casings," he called out, showing the casings to Neytiri. "These are made when my people use their weapons."

The Recon Marines had tried to camoflogue their shells, to make it appear as if spears were used in the massacre, not bullets. It was a well-reasoned and diobolical strategy. They wanted to create civil war within the Na'vi.

Neytiri nodded, with a small look of disgust at the alien metal. "Someday... you will teach me these fire sticks."

"Do you smell that?" Jake inquired, smelling the faintest odor of something strange.

"I don't know... Jake," Neytiri said.

Jake looked down, following his nose, poking his head beneath a thick group of ferns, and before he realized it, he found himself face to face with a human marine, her face painted expertly and obscured by many wet strands of her blond hair, her outline broken up with local plants tied down onto her uniform except for a single Na'vi arrow which had gone clean through her shoulder... and her leaf-green eyes open and staring directly into his.

She was holding a knife at the ready. She seemed half battle-ready and half amazed, as if she'd seen a ghost.

In a flash, Jake unsheathed his long knife as well, holding it before her, but neither of them attacked. Jake could see that she was weak... her camoflogue soggy with her blood.

"You are all right Jake?" Neytiri called, concerned that he'd kept his face in the ferns for so long.

"I'll be fine," Jake replied. Jake's eyes went wide with recognition. _What the hell are you doing here, Alice? _

Her knife wobbling with exhaustion, Alice let her head slump back back onto the moist leaves.

Jake grasped her gingerly, one of his hands grasping her below the armpit, and the other at her hips, and hefted her from the bushes. "One of the Marines," Jake said. With a moment's hesitation, he roughly tossed her at the feet of Neytiri. Alice, shaken from her slumber, cried out in pain as the impact jarred her wound.

Neytiri's emotion went form surprise to extreme contempt. "You did not kill her?" she asked incredulously.

"Allow me," Sh'yara hissed, moving quickly over as she drew her dagger in one furious swipe.

"No," Jake said, holding her back with a hand, "this one... is the proof that proves the innocence of the Omaticaya... and the guilt of the sky people."

This was far from the truth. In reality, all they needed was Alice's body as their evidence. They didn't need her alive, but he was afraid Neytiri and Sh'yara would be enraged by the truth... that years ago... Alice and him... had once been lovers.

The thought itself confused him. That she was here, on Pandora, was so wrong... so strange.

"Lies. She is a devil... my blade thirsts. The spirits of the dead demand justice!" Sh'yara shouted, motioning threateningly with her hands.

"If you think it justice for you to die, keep that knife out," Neytiri warned, unshouldering her bow as she stood beside Jake.

"You also want to protect this white devil?" Sh'yara asked in disbelief.

Neytiri knocked an arrow on to the string of her bow, staring at Sh'yara with dead eyes. "I support my mate... and you do _not _hold a knife to him." Sh'yara did not like being threatened, and glowered defiantly at Neytiri's challenge.

Giving a dissmissive snort, Sh'yara backed down. "You have an obedient woman, Jakesulee," Sh'yara said with scorn, reluctantly returning her knife to its sheath. Jake evaluated Sh'yara making sure she'd cooled head. Jake began thinking of a plan of attack.

"Someone needs to wait for Norm to get here... he shouldn't be long. The smoke coming from here can be seen from miles. And keep the alien alive, Neytiri," Jake said, motioning to Alice. "We will need her... for your people."

Jake's orders did not sit well with Neytiri. She wanted blood just as much as Sh'yara, but she accepted them, nodding her head.

"Sh'yara and I will track the devils that did this."

"heads up on that trail," Alice finally muttered, "it's rigged."

Jake looked back at her suspiciously. _Why is she helping us? Did she recognize me? _

"Do you know this? Trap? or can you only speak 'monkey'?" Alice said in a near mocking tone, her voice weak with bloodloss.

Neytiri slapped Alice harshly , and pointed right into her eyes, speaking in English.

"We are not _monkey. _We are Na'vi. If you expect to _live_, you use the proper name, alien," she spat, brandishing her knife, but Alice looked too weakened to be afraid.

Jake felt guilty that he was decieving Neytiri. _I will tell her later, _he reasoned. But even so, he took Neytiri aside and kissed her before leaving. "Stay safe, Neytiri," he said with a pained smile.

There was business more pressing to attend to. Turning to Sh'yara, Jake pointed up to the canopy. "We will pursue them from the trees. Think you can keep up?" he challenged.

"Need I answer?" she muttered dangerously.

"Good," Jake said, and soon the two were moving through the trees, following the trail below them with a deadly purpose, but after ten minutes of running, the trail abruptly ended in a clearing that looked like it had been disturbed by a great whirlwind.

"Helecopter..." Jake muttered with dissapointment, clenching his fist. Somewhere on Pandora... there was a squad of murdering thugs targetting the Na'vi... and trying to fool tribes into going to war with one another.

The war wasn't over. It wouldn't be until every last Marine was off Pandora. Jake had been a Marine, he knew how deadly even one soldier could be in a time of war.

Jake knew that he had led the Na'Vi down the war-path, and that if it cost him everything he had, it was his responsibility to see it through... and protect these people... _his people. _

**xxxxx**

_(Back at the site of the massacre)_

Neytiri worked on the human female, snapping the arrow and pulling it through the wound with care. She was impressed that the human did not even make a sound of pain, and yet was fully conscious.

Even still, she could not let herself respect this monster. Half of her wanted to pull open up the wound further so she'd bleed out.

It would be as simple as telling Jake that the human had succumbed to her severe wounds, but her other half trusted in his wisdom. _Jake ways are strange... but Eywa chose him for a reason. And he has already saved our people once. _So instead, she put pressure on the wound, and had ground up a mix of plants that her mother had shown her and rubbed the paste over both sides of the wound. The whole time, neither said a word.

Alice broke the silence. "Why haven't you killed me?" she asked. Neytiri looked, but couldn't see the woman's facial features because of her mask, which was foggy with her labored breaths.

Neytiri remained silent. She had to care for this woman, but she didn't need to humor her.

"Whaddya gonna do? Torture me for intel or something? See all these bodies? I was one of the shooters that did it."

Neytiri's hands began to tremble in rage. "Do you want to die?" Neytiri asked quietly.

"I haven't been given permission to die," Alice replied, watching the breeze blow the mist from the valley from her back.

_No fear. _

Neytiri had almost forgotten to ask the most important question. "You kill any others before?" she asked coldly, not wanting to make eye contact with the Marine. She hid her fear... that the Omaticaya had suffered the same fate.

"Two," she answered gruffly, "One male one female. We got the spears from em."

Neytiri felt a bittersweet sense of relief, knowing her tribe was still safe... at least... most of it.

And then a horrible realization struck Neytiri. _This could have been Jake if it weren't for his legs_. The revelation shocked her, making her feel sick to her stomach.

Jake had told her about how he'd recieved his injuries, and his service as a warrior on his planet. He had also done things as a warrior that he wasn't proud of. Last night, she had listened to him talk in his sleep, even as she held him reassuringly in her arms, he had a night-vision that sounded horrible.

"You are a member of the J'yarhedd clan?" Neytiri asked curiously.

Alice looked over and laughed dryly. "Oohrah."

_Maybe Jake knows this woman, _Neytiri thought fearfully. _Maybe this is why he wanted to keep her alive. _

"Never say that again," Neytiri said flatly.

_That is our word. It does not belong to this scum. _

Neytiri's ear's twitched, hearing the sound of footsteps. Jake and Sh'yara emerged from between trees, with looks of frustration.

"They escaped," Jake said, shaking his head is dissapointment. "Let's take her to the Tree of Souls... I need to gather what's left of the clans," Jake said decisively. "We need to finish this... we need to force the Sky People from Pandora."

"What about Norm?" Neytiri asked. Sh'yara rolled her eyes.

"We'll be able to send out a dozen hunters to find him once we get to the tree," Jake reasoned. "He's been driving on Pandora for a while now. He might not be agile, but he can take care of himself."

**xxxxx**

_(A few miles away) _

"OoooWoo!!" the Na'vi hunter called as a signal, as she held her bow in her hands.

Two additional young male hunters and another female hunter appeared beside her, holding bows as well. Norm guessed by their stature that they probably had not yet chosen their Ikran, but were hunting anyhow, out of necessity.

"Greetings," Norm said carefully. The trio ignored him.

"Meyasa, who's this guy? He's dressed weird," one of the boys commented, laughing.

"He's a dreamwalker... a spy of the sky people," Meyasa replied. Both the kids glared at him.

"Spy?" One of them knocked an arrow.

"Wait! I am on your side. I am a freind of Jake Sully," Norm pleaded.

The three looked amongst each other, snickering. "You lie, dreamwalker. The Tarok Makto does not have dreamwalker freinds," one of the boys said.

"Ask Jake yourself. He will prove my story," Norm insisted.

"Do not make demands, assassin," Meyasa growled, her voice dropping low in a threatening manner.

"Do we have to kill him? The way he dresses and speaks is hilarious," the other girl said with a giggle.

"No... strip him so we make sure he has no weapons, then we bring him to the elders. Maybe we can give his head as a gift to Jakesulee."


	6. Chapter 6: The People's Mercy

Aftermath: From the Ashes

**  
Chapter 6: The People's Mercy**

_Author's note: I am a fan of COD as well, but i took the phrase in reference to it being a navy SEAL catch phrase. _

_SEALs are some tough SOB's, cream of the crop in special forces, arguably the toughest unit in the US military. I am planning on having an eventual showdown, Na'vi hunters vs. Navy Seals. _

_To quote the late Colonel "That's a potent mix... gives me the goosebumps," _

**xxxxx**

_(On the road towards the Tree of Souls) _

As they moved through the jungle, Jake noticed a peculiar sensation. The usually-moist leaves crunched beneath his feet.

Jake looked down, scrunching up his flexible blue toes. The blackened leaves shattered and disintegrated with his curious touch, blowing away insubstantially into the breeze.

Through the next few bushes, and past the scortched trunks of the next few trees was a clearing, empty and charred... dead. Within the clearing lay the skeleton of a scorpion.

Jake wondered if it was Trudy's, but it was blackened beyond any ability to tell. He walked deliberately towards it. He could have easily taken the two across the brook, avoiding the ashen carnage wrought by the Scorpion's exploding fuel, but part of him was attracted to the barren wasteland in a morbid way. A fragile carbonized stick snapped beneath his calloused foot.

"We did this," Jake said, looking around at the jungle, once thriving with life in it's most basic, majestic form, now struck by the blight of war.

"Turudy... she was a good person... very brave warrior... she will not be forgotten," Neytiri changed the subject, squeezing Jake's shoulder reassuringly.

Jake smiled, reminded again at just what a wonderful woman Neytiri was. He wanted to tell her about Alice immediately... but he knew it wasn't the right time. In the distance, he heard the whoops of Na'vi hunters as they saw them.

Neytiri whooped back joyfully, yanking the rope they'd tied around Alice's wrists. Alice lurched forward, giving a defiant glare with her green eyes. Jake almost chuckled. _If Alice was a Na'vi, she would have hissed, _he thought.

Alice was just the way that he'd remembered her in Venezuala. Her blond hair was short and messy, strands flowing in every direction. It was almost enough to draw the attention away from her green eyes, which always seemed to leer out from beneath with a certain coldness.

But from what Jake remembered... when her guard was down in the midst of an involuntary giggle, her face could only be described as cute, although she worked in overtime to drive in the opposite direction.

She had to work hard as a female marine... extra hard, and she had the muscles to prove it. She was pretty, in a way... but not the soft way on all the posters back home. She was her own kind of pretty... but that was all in the past. Jake sighed, and kept moving.

"We're close," Jake announced, relieved. As they walked, leaving a cloud of stirred ash behind them, Jake thought he saw the faintest spec of blue paint showing beneath the ashened corpse of the Scorpion.

Jake smiled in rememberance and they walked on.

Still suffering from her wounds, Alice struggled to keep up with the giant's strides which almost seemed to leap forward, even as they ambled slowly. The farther they walked, the more of the blue people appeared on both sides of the trail, yellow eyes all glaring at her hatefully or cheering to the others that captured her, their emotions.... pretty easy to read for aliens.

One of them, an old woman, began lecturing her. Alice couldn't understand the individual words, but she understood the meaning. She stared ahead coldly, until the old woman's heckling faded away behind her, replaced by the heckling of more.

Soon, her captors were wading through a sea of blue people that had gathered to see the commotion. Many of them began to give aggrevated and threatening whoops brandishing weapons, some held up the bodies of the dead to her, wailing bitterly. Their arms were held high, and reaching towards her, like the waving trees of a jungle in a hurricane.

From the corner of her eye, Alice saw a rush of movement. She was thrown to the ground as one of the many angry Na'vi wedged in between the her three captors and struck her with an angry whoop. She tasted the metallic tang of her own blood and pushed herself up, glaring into the blur of the disorienting jungle of limbs and angry eyes, refusing to lose her composure in the face of death.

The male that had discovered her gave a shout which seemed to silence the sea of indigenous that encircled them. She was relieved that their hatred of her seemed to only be matched by their respect of that male.

They approached a towering pure-white tree that stood at the center of the alien encampment, which looked like a weeping willow that had been crystalized. Alice had been shown an image of it in her breifing, but the air recon did no justice to the beauty of it.

_I'm going to be executed, _she thought. She kept her head high. As the male took her forcefully up onto a small embankment right in front of the tree, Alice felt tunnel vision set in. Her heart beating forcefully, and her mask fogging up with her panicked breathing, she looked around, seeing angry faces, all looking at her.

A rock flung somewhere from the crowd clocked her in the head.

Alice crumpled down, disoriented, but thankfully, the crowd was quickly silenced as the male began to speak.

The crowd settled down, but the only thing she could see was the dagger, the size of a tree-saw sticking from the sheath hanging from his waist. As blood began to seep down her scalp, dripping down her matted blond hair, she was forced to close her eyes, but she kept her head high, gritting her teeth.

"Jake Sully has gone native," Briggs had told her when she'd asked. That was all anyone had said.

_If you're out there Jake, _she thought, looking out into the crowd for any other human, even with the blood dripping down her cheeks, _now would be a good time to show up, you stupid SOB. _

**xxxxx**

"People! Tribes of the Na'vi!" Jake shouted to the crowded onlookers. Jake saw warriors from each of the many tribes, but the crowd was far smaller than the one that had gathered at the eve of the battle two days ago. He paused only momentarily to see that Alice had been struck with a rock.

"We have won a victory at a terrible price."

Jake could see the sadness and the suffering in the eyes of those he spoke to. So many had been lost. At least half of the Na'vi wariors that had fought lay dead over the vast battlefield.

"But still, the sky people's villiage remains." He saw a spark of resentment stir in the crowd. "As long as it remains... more of them will come... like a river flowing from the sky... more armies," he warned, motioning to the wispy clouds above.

He could see the fear... the dread in them, but he was determined to show his people there was hope. "Brothers... sisters... ride with me..." Jake said, raising his fist, "to cut off the source of this flood that threatens us all, for those that live today... and the children who will come. From death comes life... and from this tragedy.... will come an even greater rebirth!"

There was a cheer from the assembled warriors, Jake realized that if he wanted to protect Alice, now would be the best time to sneak in his point.

"I have taken this prisoner!" Jake announced, motioning to Alice, who stared defiantly to the crowd. The crowd of Na'vi began to stir with jeers.

"The sky people have treated us with hatred and contempt! They have murdered our people, and lain waste to the jungle! We may want revenge."

The crowd murmured their agreement. "But we are _not _them! We are not the sky people. We are the people! This woman... weaponless and weak..."

"Give her a weapon and let her die in battle! It would be an honor!" one warrior cried.

Jake could feel himself losing the crowd. They were moving, talking amongst themselves. He needed their eyes on him.

"Our _greatest _revenge," he answered, "is to make her feel the pain and regret of the crimes of her people. When she feels the death of each of our people in her heart... it will be a wound far greater than any spear or arrow! We will take her to see the burials of our people... we will take her to watch and learn until she understands! Who will take this responsibility for me?"

An uneasy silence fell over the crowd.

"Will anyone?"

"The Omaticaya will," Neytiri raised her voice. Jake smiled to her.

"Thank you," he replied softly. "Tomorrow morning be ready... WE RIDE!" Jake's heart swelled when he heard the sound of cheers rising through the crowd. _They're still with me. _

Alice looked confused, but he couldn't speak English to her. Not here... not now.

Instead, he turned around with what would look to the crowd to be a menacing gesture, and gave the smallest smile.

_You're going to be okay. _

**xxxxx**

_(A few miles south after the speech) _

"These are H'ma seeds. Do you know them?" Meyasa asked, resting her hand on Norm's shoulder. It was casual, but at the same time, menacing.

"Yes, I've studied them," he replied.

"Good, then I don't have to waste any time explaining their unique properties," she said with a cold smile.

"They're edible and putrid," Norm recited.

"Very good, dreamwalker, you've studied well," Meyasa mocked, waving her hand dismissively.

The other three watched in brooding silence, deadly bows held in their hands.

"Please... talk to Jake Sully," Norm pleaded, eyes gravitating to their weapons.

"So you can spare you just like he spared the other devil?" she asked incredulously. "I talked to the elders and we both agreed that was unacceptable. Too many of our people are dead... we demand _blood_... "

She shook her head furiously and continued, "No... you do not talk to anyone else. No one else will know of this but us... and you will die for the sins of your people."

"I fought with you... to drive the _Marines _off Pandora... that's where the scar on my shoulder came from!" Norm stressed the word, hoping she could make a distinction.

"Don't you dare make that lie. Other lies are silly, but not that one," she spat, drawing her face so it was right in front of his. He could smell her breath. It smelled ironically of sweet fruit. She looked up and down his face, studying him with disgust. "My mate died in that battle against you so you do not speak of it."

"We should turn him in to the Tarok Makto... it would bring honor to our clan," suggested a male with broak shoulders.

"But not Justice! Would the sky people show mercy?" A taller male with a sharp face answered.

"This is no excuse! Tarok Makto was right. We are better than them. Why measure ourselves by them?"

"No... he was right. We are better than them. They do not deserve life, we do. It is Eywa's will that they all die," Meyasa countered.

Norm listened in silence, realizing that if he talked, it would just anger Meyasa further.

"This is wrong," the other female said simply. "This one has good in his eyes and this is wrong." She gave Norm a sad look and turned and left, looking upset. Norm's heart sank as he watched her leave. Her departure wasn't a good sign.

_I am going to lose my Avatar body, _Norm thought, watching as his fate got closer and closer to being decided. they didn't realize that the death of his Avatar body did not mean necessarily the death of his real body, but he didn't think adding that little detail would help his chances.

With the discussion quieting down, Meyasa looked into Norm's eyes and crushed the seeds within her hands, smearing it onto Norm's braid. "Well then, _warrior, _let's see if your story was true," she said with a bitter smile.

The three of them began to back away, expertly slipping into the folds of the jungle.

Norm gulped, racking his mind for the significance of the seeds that gave Meyasa such a devilish satisfaction... He tried to remember any ritual... any small footnote in his notes that might help him understand what was going to happen to him.

_Grace would know, _he thought.

And then he heard big was approaching at a gallop. Norm turned towards the noise, seeing only the rustling of the brush, the rustling coming closer and closer like a small ocean wave.

"Eywa guide you, warrior!" one of the males jeered.

And then Norm heard the roar Thanator as it barelled towards him. _Putrid... of course, _he thought. _The smell attracts the Thanator._ But Norm didn't have much time to analyze the situation.

Norm felt like he'd been set afire with adrenaline, the tempo of his pulse rising to a quick crescendo.

He had to follow Jake Sully's example. He had to act without thoughts.

**xxxxx**

_(In the main village of the same tribe) _

Sh'yara walked at the head of a band of fifty hunters... all the remaining hunters of her tribe that had attended the speech. She saw many familiar faces, and heard heroic accounts of the battle as it raged after she'd gone down, as well as stories of the Tarok Makto and how he'd led a host of Eywa against the Sky Peoplle.

The children and the elderly had stayed behind in the makeshift camp while the speech was given.

Sh'yara inspected the camp as it came into view, seeing that the huts had gotten more extensively built since she left for battle two days before, but there were a few scortch marks of battle.

Already, men were repairing weapons and hauling back food from the hunt, and women were repairing clothes and preparing food for the next meal.

"Sh'yara, you're alive!" an old voice called out in surprise.

Sh'yara stepped away from the hunters, waving with her hand to dismiss them.

"You sound surprised, Oaghano" Sh'yara answered keenly. "Tell me... where is my father? I'm sure he must be eager to see me."

"I'm sorry, Sh'yara, one of the enemy's machines came in the battle... your father was firing his bow... it fired it's hot arrows and your father fell. We burried him yesterday."

Sh'yara felt her knees suddenly get weak, but she struggled hard to keep her composure, she nodded, averting her eyes so he would not see her eyes glazing over with the extra moisture as she wiped them dry.

"That is not all that happened, please come with me... the elders will want to meet with you," he continued, motioning with his arms. She followed, walking through their small encampment, weaving through a group of men who were gutting a fresh kill. She felt every deliberate move of her body. She felt like she was in a very strange dream.

"Tell me," she said with what little authority she could muster.

"The elders elected a new chief... my son, Bubaiya," he said as he entered the large hut that had been built for the elders.

"Bubaiya?" Sh'yara exclaimed loudly. The other elders, sitting within the hut, all turned towards her as she talked, looking at her with veiled distaste.

"Yes," Oaghano answered patronizingly, taking a seat among them.

"But... I..."

"Now that you are back, that obviously no longer applies. You are the chief's only daughter," Jyuzo said, his grumbling voice weakening more with each moon.

"But..." one of the other elders stated, but he didn't finish his statement. Instead, he looked to the other elders, who nodded amongst themselves and gave murmurs of assent.

"Our tribe never has been led by a... woman without a mate," Oaghano stated.

"You must take a male who will lead our tribe as your mate."

Sh'yara was beginning to feel bewildered now. She did not like the direction the elders were going, and she didn't like how forceful they were being with her. But she knew if she stood against them, they had the influence to leave the tribe, leaving her holding her bow and maybe a few hunters. _I owe it to my father to keep this clan together, _she thought.

"But there are so few unmated males left... so many have fallen, and those that haven't..."

"Chose my son," Oaghano said. It was dangerously close to an order.

"Bubaiya already has a mate..." Sh'yara said bitterly. "He has a mate that was chosen over me by the dance of the Afari... and by Eywa."

"All that aside," Oaghano said, glancing to the other elders smugly, "It is what the village requires."

_This is a nightmare, _Sh'yara thought to herself.

_But I'm still awake. _

"I will tell him," she said in defeat.


	7. Chapter 7: Whispers in the Night

Aftermath: From the Ashes

**  
Chapter 7: Whispers In the Night**

_Author's Note: Hey guys, updating is going to slow because of college, but that does not mean in any way that this story is going to end. _

_I have a rough idea of the plot progression, and I expect some magic to happen. (Well as long as you've enjoyed the quality of the work so far). _

_Anyhow, I welcome negative reviews. Lay any of your concerns on me! _

**xxxxx**

_(Omaticaya Encampment at the Tree of Souls) _

Jake returned to the Omaticaya encampment with his hand clasped in Neytiri's, feeling as she gave gentle squeezes or simply let her palm glide against his. It was very soothing.

The Omaticaya hunters following in stride, Jake couldn't help but feel a deep sense of relief. Despite all odds... they had survived to see the sun set again.

"Mother!" Neytiri called.

To Jake, Neytiri's mother was Mo'at, the head priestess of the Omaticaya. Jake smiled in recognition, seeing her signature red garment which hung off her neck, her broad nose, and her warm smile.

Neytiri rushed forward, and soon the two were embracing. Jake followed at a slower pace, swarmed by a small crowd of children. "Jake! Jake!" they called out, parroting each other.

Jake smiled, warmly grasping a few of the group by the shoulders. "How many aliens did you kill?" one of them asked with child-like enthusiasm.

Jake tried to keep himself from grimacing with the memories of killing those he once called brothers. If there was one thing he regretted, it was that he was forced to chose between the Omaticaya and his love of Neytiri, and his fellow soldiers... fellow Marines. For that... he blamed the Colonel... and himself... for not making them see what he had seen.

But in war... there is black and there is white. There is no grey. Jakes eyes opened wide as he remembered the first time he'd heard that phrase. It was in Venezuala.

_There is no grey. _

"Jake, is something wrong?" one of the children asked in a sullen voice.

Jake blinked, once again remembering to fake another smile. "I killed many. They were weak!" Jake said, giving a playful shove to a little girl. "Not strong... like you!"

A few playful shoves later and the children were climbing all over him. Jake made a mock cry of distress and fell, rolling around as they grabbed on.

"Mercy! Mercy!" Mo'at ordered, laughing. Jake peered up from between the giggling children to see Mo'at and Neytiri laughing together. Neytiri's eyes shone with joy and fascination as she watched him play with the children. _Perhaps wondering if I would make a good father, _Jake thought to himself.

"All right. Off," Jake said with a laugh. The children moaned in protest as he rolled, guiding them to the ground. The ground was hard and trodden in the village, not soft and moist like the most of the jungle. He rose to his feet, drawing himself to his full height.

"I must thank you Jakesulee, for bringing my daughter back safe," Mo'at said with an affirming nod. Despite all they'd been through, Mo'at still looked at him strangely, as if with curiosity.

"Well actually," Jake answered, exchanging a smile with Neytiri, "she was the one keeping me alive, if anything. And I'm not just saying that..." he said, seeing Mo'at's doubt, "it will go down in the songs that Neytiri of the Omaticaya slayed the enemy general."

Jake stumbled through the words. He still had difficulty with formal speech, as his practice with Neytiri was mostly informal. Mo'at swelled with pride, completely unable to stifle her smile.

"She always tried very hard to be the best hunter," Mo'at answered, looking like she was about to burst in pride for her daughter. Neytiri grasped Jake around the waist possessively.

"You discussed the details about the prisoner?" Jake asked, nervously running his fingers through Neytiri's smooth hair. Neytiri's happy smile faded and she glanced up at him with concern. She could tell something was bothering him.

"Yes, while you were reenacting the battle of the great flame with the children," Mo'at replied with a chuckle. "It is taken care of. We will keep her tied in the middle of camp... we will build her a small shelter under guard by T'sadoo. He is very trustworthy. The hunters will help feed her, and at least once a day, we will show her something of our culture... much like we showed you."

"Thanks," Jake said, feeling as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders.

"We've already done so much today," Jake said, "Let's rest, Neytiri."

As they made their way to their tent, Jake saw that in their absense, the tent had been greatly upgraded. It was larger, adorned with colorful paint and flowers. It seemed only to loom larger as Jake walked towards it.

"We built a tent more worthy of the Tarok Makto and the chieftain of the Omaticaya!" one adolescent hunter shouted, seeing Jake's amazement.

"Thanks!" was all Jake could reply, but Neytiri was strangely silent.

Jake parted the flap and entered, looking around to see the richly furnished tent. "Neytiri isn't this amazing?" he asked, motioning to the pool of fresh water that was in the middle of the tent, but she said nothing.

He moved to kiss her, to feel that warm, reassuring union of their lips that he loved so much, but she stopped him short with her hand, leaving his head hanging in the air.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked drawing himself back up stiffly, surprised.

"The human female," Neytiri said, "you are hiding something. You act as if you are deceiving me and are ashamed of it... I know you Jake Sully... I am your mate." She bore into him with her beautiful yellow eyes, pupils dilated with mixed emotions. _I cannot hide anything from you. _

"I was going to tell you," Jake explained looking away for a moment to collect his thoughts, feeling ashamed she had seen through him before he had a chance to tell her. "Alice fought with me before. We were comrades... and..." he stopped on that word, and forced himself to continue, needing to lift the heavy words from his throat, "I knew her."

Neytiri's face contorted with alarm. "You do not know how we use our words, Jake. you were her friend, right? Her comrade."

"No..." Jake said sadly. "I _knew _her."

"She was your mate?" Neytiri asked, her voice trailing off sadly, as if she already knew.

"It isn't the same way on our world," Jake explained.

"I did not mate with anyone before you," she softly said.

"I know," Jake said, nuzzling against her neck.

She let him do this at least, as they stood there, in the doorway." The silence grew in length until the void became unbearable.

"On earth... we have... sex with people, but that doesn't necessarily mean we are mates. We do it to make sure that person is our mate. Sometimes... they are... and when it feels right, we become a mated pair. It didn't feel right with her."

"So you are testing me then, Jake," she asked, eyes flashing with a brief undercurrent of anger.

"No... Neytiri... when I was born into this body... it was as if I was reborn completely," Jake trailed off, he felt as if he was missing the point. "Neytiri, you are the woman that I've been waiting for my entire life," he said, looking right into her eyes. "I am _so_... happy with you."

Neytiri gave a pained smile and grasped Jake's hand. She pulled him towards the sleeping mat and sank down with him, so he was behind her. As she rested her body against the mats, she felt all the stress and pain in her body begin to melt away into the ground.

Then she pulled one of his arms snugly over her chest, in a way that made her feel completely safe, and then gave a sad sigh.

"Why... when I feel something so simple... so much," Neytiri began, kissing his arm, "Does everything have to be so complicated."

Jake weighed his words, and then decided it was time. "It's because we're in love," he answered simply. His whole spirit seemed to lift within him as he said those words.

Neytiri looked deep into his eyes, thoughts racing behind them, and then suddenly something gave way and their lips came together like magnets.

He had considered talking to Neytiri about his fears regarding the stability of the tribes... about how he expected the humans to react to their attack tomorrow morning...

But none of that mattered. None of that even existed when he kissed her.

**xxxxx**

_(In the wilderness farther south of the Tree of Souls) _

_Think Think Think Think_

_  
_Each time the desperate word ran through Norm's mind, he heard the Thanator gallop closer, ripping through the jungle as if trees were but an annoyance. Norm had only seconds.

_Think_

Norm was a scientist, a professional thinker, but he had always needed _time. _Now there was no time. Jake had always been the soldier, the one much better at doing the smart things without thinking. The adrenaline surge started to hit as the musky smell of the broken seeds in his hair invaded his nostrils.

_Smell! _

His hands shaking with adrenaline, Norm rubbed as much of the seed off of his hair as he could and smeared it onto the rough trunk of a tree that stood beside him.

And then he turned, so pumped with adrenaline that he barely could feel his legs. And then he saw it, the glint of sunlight reflecting off of the surface of water hidden behind a steep bank topped with white flowers. Without a moment's hesitation, Norm leapt in headfirst.

The first sensation he felt after the cold splash of the water was a sudden jolt of dull pain as his head struck rocks at the bottom of the muddy brook. His first instinct was to raise his head back up above the water, and check to see how much of the liquid dripping from his head was blood, but as he heard the Thanator's frustrated roar, his second instinct kicked in quickly.

He took in a panicked lungful of air and submerged his head.

**xxxxx**

_(In the temporary camp of the Sh'yara's clan, the Palotu, a dozen miles from the tree of souls) _

Sh'yara felt her feet getting heavier with every step towards the thing that made her heart beat low, threatening rhythms in her chest. It was strange. Sh'yara prided herself on being fearless, but there was one person she could never face, ever since she'd intentionally lost the dance of the Afari.

_Bubaiya _

His name seemed to yank her insides down by a chain of self loathing and anger. And now... he was to be her mate for the sake of politics.

The other villagers floated past her only as specters, some giving greetings... some looking surprised to see she was alive, but all her focus was directed straight ahead, at the approaching flap of his tent.

"Bubaiya!" she called out, steeling her resolve.

But it wasn't him who answered, it was Ashta, his mate. Ashta's glaring yellow eyes shone with a mix of contempt and dissmissiveness as she opened the flap, revealing her ever growing pregnant belly. Sh'yara wondered if Ashta was pretty. She was soft and small, and was a good singer, but not much else.

"Hello Sh'yara," Ashta said simply, before returning to sit in the back of the tent, holding her stomach. _What will become of Ashta after our marriage... will he keep her? _

Sh'yara gulped nervously, but did her best to appear unphased.

"Bubaiya, I trust your father has informed you of the situation?" Sh'yara asked. She did not want to say it directly.

"Yes," was all Bubaiya replied, looking towards her with distant eyes, as if he was looking right past her.

He was still as handsome and composed as she remembered, with his muscular shoulders and defined jaw, but his warm smile that she had come to love was gone from his face.

"So we are to mate?" she asked, unable to keep eye contact at the prospect of it.

"Yes," the word dropped from his mouth.

"When are we to mate before Eywa," she asked, still flustered, but getting frustrated.

"There is a grove of flowers off the river a mile to the north," he said with a somber look, "meet me there when the sun falls."

Sh'yara smiled at this. He'd taken the time to chose a good spot. Perhaps this would not be as horrible as she had feared.

"My father chose it," he added.

Her heart sank.

"All right," she said, and she turned to leave. But even as she walked back into the village, the weight was still there, pulling her down.

As she walked away from the hut, she overheard some excited whispers. "Yes, they're executing him with the Palulukan!" one of the young boys said to the others.

"Who is executed?" Sh'yara asked authoritatively.

All the boys suddenly stiffened, looking fearful.

"A dreamwalker spy!" one of them finally sputtered out. The others nodded enthusiastically.

"Finally..." Sh'yara muttered with a smirk, "Something enjoyable to watch today. I would like to watch the alien's demise, where is the execution?"

"Farther south along the brook!" one of the boys immediately answered.

She turned to leave, but then she noticed just how rigid and uptight all the boys were. She paused. _Is that what they think of me? Do they all fear me? _With a sudden insecurity, she tussled one of the boy's on the head.

The boy grimaced at first, but then realized what she was doing and gave a grin.

"You're good kids," she said as warmly as she could. "You make me proud to be the chieftain of this tribe."

And with that, she turned, leaving them surprised in her wake. She hoped... they would be less fearful the next time.

Sh'yara began to run south through the jungle, expertly weaving her way through bushes and trees along the brook, climbing a small rise covered with ferns. Cresting the small hill, behind the veil of leaves, she heard the roar of the Palulukan. Even Sh'yara tensed up with that sound. She instinctively crouched, moving lower than the ferns towards the noise.

Getting close, she recognized Meyasa and two young males. She quickly ran to join her at her observation point.

"Meyasa!" Neytiri whispered, grasping her shoulder. Meyasa grinned and the two embraced.

"I am here for revenge of my mate," Meyasa said as she pulled away, teeth baring in a sign of anger, "but it isn't as enjoyable as I thought it would be. The coward has hidden in the brook and the Palulukan is frustrated."

"I see," Sh'yara said, looking between the nook in the log to see where Meyasa was pointing. She had a long day, and nothing would make her happier than for an alien spy to be torn to pieces in front of her.

Hidden within the brook, she saw a blue head emerge from the water. And recognition shot through her like a fast arrow. _Norm! _"Shit," she exclaimed, vaulting the log.

"Sh'yara wait!" Meyasa called after her from cover.

Sh'yara charged, grasping her worn bow from over her shoulder, and knocking an arrow. As the Palulukan turned it's armored head to check on the noise, she was already steadying her feet upon the mossy ground and taking aim.

She released her fingers from the taut bowstring with a deep thrum as a thick arrow dripping with neurotoxin lanced out, striking the surprised Palulukan in the nose.

It screeched, snapping the arrow off of itself like a twig. It was far from dead.

It leapt and suddenly Sh'yara was in it's shade as it blocked out the sun. She looked up, and saw nothing but blackness, as if she was looking into the darkness of death itself.

_It is far from hurt. _

She rolled away beneath a fallen log as the Palulukan landed where she'd been standing, scrambling to her feet on the moist ground, but it was already in angered pursuit behind her. She looked up, and swung onto the limb of the thickest tree she could find, scrambling among the leaves up it's wet, mossy trunk, but the Palulukan simply rammed the tree, snapping it. Sh'yara saw the ground begin to rush upwards, but jumped before the tree crushed her, and rolled to her feet again.

When she looked up, she saw the Palulukan had leapt again, but this time she had no time to roll away, so she rolled directly towards it through mud, causing the Palulukan to overshoot. The Palulukan looked between it's legs, and swung it's armored tail. Sh'yara threw herself back, holding her breath as the tail missed. The strong sweep struck a tree again, shattering it into a shower of splinters.

_One solid hit with that tail will kill me_, she realized.

Before it could turn, she jumped onto it's scaled back and attempted to make Zaheelu, but it rolled, flipping the world all the way around. Sh'yara gasped as the weight of the armored beast jolted against her for just a moment, but held on. Soon, it's flexible neck was turning around, snapping it's jaws together with incredible speed. She hissed back at it, slamming it's wounded nose. with her palm.

Switching strategies, the Palulukan bucked hard. Sh'yara felt herself floating as she was launched into the air and then let out a cough as she smashed into the ground, feeling the air leave her chest.

But she had no time to whimper before it was atop her, lunging down with it's huge jaw. She flailed her Afari from her waistband, trapping it's snout shut, and holding steady with both arms. Struggling, it gave an enraged snuff, and raised a paw, glistening with razor-sharp talons, to disembowel her.

But the moment before it could strike, she saw a flash of movement, as Norm thrust a silver object straight into the Palulukan's steady eye. It was a small fire stick... a pistol.

Norm grimaced and began to pull the trigger. _Splk Splk Splk Splk Splk _was all the noise the pistol made, muffled by the head of the Palulukan.

It went limp, quivering atop Sh'yara, it's massive body crushing her, brain oozing from its eye socket. She began to take short breaths, expanding her lungs as much as they could with all that weight forcing her down, but she could breath less and less with each breath. "Off… of… me…" she whimpered.

Posting his legs, Norm pushed as hard as he could, giving a cry of exertion and tipping it. The huge creature slammed down with a crash as all the vegetation it landed upon was instantly flattened. Once it fell, he wiped his hand which was dripping with viscous multi-colored liquid.

Sh'yara got up, taking a few full breaths with her strained chest. He nodded to her. She nodded back, and soon she was laughing.

Meyasa rushed in, looking alarmed. "What is going on?" she asked fiercely, drawing an arrow in her bow. "I will kill this dreamwalker with my own hands!"

"No," Sh'yara commanded firmly, holding up her hand. "This is an ally. He fought alongside us."

Meyasa went into a brooding silence, but shouldered her bow, storming away. The two males walked back to camp with her.

"Are you okay?" Norm asked Sh'yara, still bleeding from his forehead.

"Yes..." she began, "and no...".

"I am to be mated," she answered.

"Congradulations. You are to make your mate very blessed and joyful," Norm said, awkwardly formal.

Sh'yara chuckled dismissively, motioning for them to return to camp. "You are a silly one, Norm."

"I was serious, Sh'yara," he insisted, "You are a very good woman." She shook her head, looking down as they returned to the camp.

**xxxxx**

_(Later that night in the grove of flowers alongside the river) _

_Is this a kiss? _Sh'yara wondered, pressing her lips against his. It was so dry... so uninteresting. He did nothing... he barely moved, it was like pressing her lips to a stone.

As he lay, splayed in the parted flowers, shining in the night air with bright tones, she began to remove her clothing, but he wouldn't look at her. He just looked up at the stars.

As they began, she closed her eyes and pretended it was Jake, but it didn't help. The wind stirred, causing the trees to slowly sway in the night above her. Water from yesterday's rain was shaken loose in the dance, and began to patter among the flowers.

Sh'yara shivered It was a very cold night.


End file.
